Vans carrying LPG cylinders will not be seen in the Smart cities of the country. Narendra Modi government has made it clear that along with other smart features, the Smart cities will have the facility of piped natural gas (PNG). The government has also asked the states devise a system so that digging for laying various cables and pipelines should not be done again and again.
A senior official of the ministry of urban development said that a letter has been written last week to concerned department of the state governments to facilitate the laying of gas pipelines to supply cooking gas in households.
According to the letter, PM Narendra Modi has directed to ensure provision of piped gas supply in all Smart Cities and ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is, therefore, taking all possible efforts to ensure coverage of Smart Cities with City Gas Distribution (CGD). “However, while apprising the efforts, the petroleum ministry highlighted the difficulties being faced by the CGD Companies in obtaining pipeline laying permissions from State/Municipal/Local Authorities as well as about the exorbitant high restoration charges being levied by the Municipal authorities along with inordinate delays in granting permissions whose impact is equivalent to doubling the project cost of laying a pipeline,” said the letter written on June 7.
The letter further says that in order to put thrust on development of CGD network for securing the uninterrupted supply of cooking and transport fuel to the public at large, the Government has accorded the highest priority in domestic gas allocation to PNG(Domestic) and CNG (Transport) segments.
The official said that the expansion of PNG network to households is a public utility, non-commercial, capital intensive activity and companies take a longer horizon, of about 25 years to recover their investment in PNG sector.
A designated utility corridor having space for laying gas pipeline and advanced land plot identification for establishing CNG Stations at a reasonable rate may be helpful in expediting the development of CGD network. This will help in sharing the inherent benefits of natural gas as an eco-friendly fuel to the public at large, added the official.
To ensure smooth coverage all Smart Cities with CGD network, it is, therefore, advised to extend all possible supports to the CGD companies and issue appropriate directions for rationalizing the charges and time limits for granting permissions by respective authorities for laying gas pipeline networks across the country, said the letter.